Nike Premieres Olympic Commercial Starring Trans Athlete Chris Mosier

Nike Premieres Olympic Commercial Starring Trans Athlete Chris Mosier

Trans athlete Chris Mosier is breaking boundaries one after another. Earlier this summer, Mosier became the first trans athlete to make a U.S. National Team in duathalon, and the first trans person to be included in ESPN the Magazine‘s “Body Issue.” Now, he’s become the first trans athlete to be featured in a Nike commercial.

The ad, titled “Unlimited Courage,” aired on NBC during the Olympics, and shows Mosier participating in a duathalon, which includes running and biking. Throughout the commercial, a narrator asks the athlete a number of questions—”How’d you know you’d be fast enough to compete against men? Or that you’d be allowed to compete? How’d you know the team would accept you?”— to which Mosier replies, “I didn’t.” And when asked whether he ever felt like giving up, he answers, “Yeah—but I didn’t.”

“Unlimited Courage” is the third ad in Nike’s “Unlimited” campaign that showcases “both the everyday athletes and the champion athletes who regularly push their limits—and who are poised to prove their unlimited potential this summer and beyond.”

“Everything that I’ve done in the last five, six years since I started to transition, has been with [a] ‘Just Do It’ mindset,” Mosier said. “I didn’t know if I would be competitive against men; I just did it. Every success that I’ve had since then has shown me that anything is really possible. By not stopping myself, not limiting myself and just really going for it, I’ve learned a lot about myself and also had the opportunity to further the conversation on trans inclusion in sports.”

Although Mosier will not compete in Rio because the duathalon is currently not included, his success with Team USA has led the International Olympic Committee to reform its policies regarding trans athletes.